Evaluating physician satisfaction regarding user interactions with an electronic medical record system

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Health IT Usability

Background:

• Physician adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) is crucial for healthcare transformation, yet reluctance persists.
• Limited formal usability studies exist for experienced physicians using EMRs in daily clinical practice.
• Understanding user interaction is key to optimizing EMR systems and increasing adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usability and user satisfaction of an established EMR system (BICS) among primary care physicians.
• To identify specific system features that influence physician satisfaction and interaction.
• To inform future EMR design and implementation strategies.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction (QUIS) to 75 primary care physicians.
• Focused on users with routine experience using the Brigham and Women's Integrated Computing System (BICS).
• Analyzed correlations between user satisfaction and specific system attributes.

Main Results:

• The BICS EMR system received the highest ratings for screen design and layout.
• System capability was identified as the lowest-scoring area for the BICS.
• Physician user satisfaction correlated most strongly with screen design and layout, unexpectedly not with system response time.

Conclusions:

• EMR usability, particularly screen design, significantly impacts physician satisfaction and adoption.
• Improving EMR system capabilities and interface design can enhance user experience.
• Human-computer interaction research is vital for guiding the development of effective health IT.